If you mention the term "affiliate marketing" to some brand marketers they either don't know what you're talking about or they think it's some kind of shady method of generating traffic.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Affiliate marketing, simply put, is the use of third parties (affiliates) to help sell your product or promote your brand. Even better, affiliate marketing is a better way for a brand to pay for advertising. What do I mean by this?

Regarding its deal with Ditto Labs to help it scan all the images on its site for insight into a person's affiliation with a brand, Tumblr Head of Business Development T.R. Newcomb said, "Right now, we're not planning to do anything ad-related."

And "right now" would be the key word in that phrase. But Ditto will be sharing the data with brands to help them determine how they are being represented on the service. Newcomb notes, "If Coke wants to understand the nature of the conversation Ditto can sift through and deliver it to Coke."